Tuesday 10 March 2015

Damaged Riding Gear is a Hazard U Don't Need

I recently replaced a pair of damaged Storm Rider rain pants with a new two piece River Road suit, and also purchased new Icon gloves to replace my worn and damaged Icon insulated and water-resistant gauntlet gloves from www.canadasmotorcycle.ca Of course, I continued to use the worn out patched gloves until they sprang another leak or perhaps to keep the new pair new for as long as possible. This, as I discovered today, was a mistake. While riding home I approached a stop sign at a T-intersection and touched my signal indicator with my left thumb to turn left.
As I started through, I could not pull my thumb away so my left hand was basically caught there and I was unable to easily grip the clutch. I quickly pulled over, turned the ignition off and saw that a hole in my glove had hooked the tiny black turn signal indicator switch which I promptly released. I had an extra pair of old gloves in my topbox so I put those on and continued safely home. Several times this past year I have been made aware of the importance of making sure that I as a rider am fit, that my bike is mechanically sound and also that the gear I am wearing is in good condition so as not to impede my abilities to control the bike while keeping me protected. Today was another one of those days. The old pants and gloves are now in the garbage where they belong, and the new good ones will be on me next time I ride as they should be.